The Dubai Police have the coolest fleet of police cars in the world. They have cars like a Bugatti Veyron, Audi R8, Lamborghini Aventador and others. While it's all fine and great, Dubai just doesn't seem to be satisfied with keeping to the ground. Enter the Dubai Police hoverbike. Made by Russian company Hoversurf, the hoverbike seen flying about in this video appears to be a version of the Scorpion 3 hoverbike we saw a year ago. Dubai said it was planning on using these aircraft then, and it looks like they're still set on that path.
At first glance the hoverbikes seem extremely unsafe. Four rotors pushed to the edges of the machine spinning so fast they're a blur? What could go wrong? Dubai has answered that question by saying there will be a safety ring around the blades. The usefulness of these contraptions is still questionable, though. Maximum flight speed is 60 mph and they can only hover for a maximum of 40 minutes. The company quotes actual flight time as between 10 to 25 minutes with a recharge time of 2.5 hours — not exactly an efficient way of getting around. Of course, then again, this is the same police force that thought a Veyron would make a swell patrol car.
There's nothing stealthy about these hoverbikes, either. If criminals are deathly afraid of bees it could prove to be a good deterrent, but any car could easily outrun it as long as it has enough fuel to drive for longer than 15 minutes. So, Dubai won't be using it to chase down any of its oil-rich population in their super- and hypercars. However, if there are any crimes committed where one needs to drop in helicopter-style to save the day, Dubai is covered.
The fun isn't limited to police officers in Dubai. If you want one, Hoversurf will sell one of these hoverbikes for $150,000. Just try not to fly too close to anything with those spinning blades ...
